A religious centre in Bexhill-on-Sea in Sussex is asking the local authority to lift a restriction on the hours it can open for worship. Some residents have said the change will exacerbate parking problems in the area.

Mon, 12 Nov 2018

The NSS has called for children to be taught about safe homosexual sex in Scotland regardless of the religious affiliation of schools. The call comes after the Scottish government made a commitment to LGBTI inclusion.

Remembrance services have taken place across the UK to mark yesterday's 100th anniversary of the armistice. The Church of England led the annual service at the Cenotaph. Prince Charles and Theresa May gave religious readings in a service at Westminster Abbey.

Britain has not offered asylum to a Pakistani Christian woman freed after eight years on death row for blasphemy because of fear it would prompt "unrest" in the UK and attacks on embassies, her supporters say.

The new head of the CPS has been accused of adopting "deeply unhelpful" language about terrorists over his refusal to use the phrase "Islamist terrorism". Max Hill QC has said the word terrorism should not be attached "to any of the world religions" and that the term "Daesh-inspired terrorism" should be used instead.

Buckfast monks are raking in the cash after sales of the tonic wine have soared following a crackdown on minimum pricing for alcohol in Scotland. While cheaper rivals like cider went up in price, the price of Buckfast remained largely unchanged.

An Australian man who set fire to a truck laden with gas cylinders in the centre of Melbourne and stabbed one person to death on Friday was inspired by Islamic State but did not have direct links with the group, police said.

A rape victim is facing 20 years in jail charged with attempted murder after she gave birth to her abuser's baby in a latrine in El Salvador. The case highlights the rigidity of the country's abortion laws.

After its victory getting Ireland's blasphemy laws overturned, Atheist Ireland is launching a new campaign to replace the religious oaths taken by Ireland's political leaders with one that's both secular and universal.

Patheos

Fri, 09 Nov 2018

In its submission to the Department for Education consultation on its sex education guidelines, the CoE says it is "at a loss" to understand why schools have not been asked to include religious views in their RSE classes.

Measures approved by voters in Alabama and West Virginia have created 'trigger bans' on abortion. This means abortion will become illegal in those states as soon as the famous Roe v Wade decision is overturned in the US federal courts.

Thu, 08 Nov 2018

Campaigning groups have responded to a government consultation on its guidance on sex education in English schools. The NSS took issue with the leeway the guidance gives to religious schools to teach a "distinctive faith perspective on relationships".

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith has qualified his recent appearance at an event hosted by a Muslim group which has attacked other campaigners for being too "Jew-friendly". He said his being there in no way amounted to his support for the organisation.

A Pakistani Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy after spending eight years on death row has been freed from prison, her lawyer says. News of her release led to some confusion, with reports she had been taken to another country. But the foreign office later confirmed she was still in Pakistan.

Wed, 07 Nov 2018

As the Christmas holidays approach children across the UK will be encouraged to pack up shoe boxes full of gifts and presents. Will Hayward speaks to opponents and supporters of the Operation Christmas Child scheme, including NSS campaigns officer Megan Manson.

The anti-FGM charity Daughters of Eve is among a series of groups which have criticised government guidance on sex education in England. The group has criticised the proposal to make the teaching of female genital mutilation and forced marriage optional.

Labour MPs have called on the prime minister to sack her new housing tsar, Roger Scruton, over comments he has made on a series of subjects. The comments they've criticised include Scruton saying 'Islamophobia' was a "propaganda word" and homosexuality was "not normal".

Italy has said it is working to help relocate the family of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman acquitted eight years after being sentenced to death for blasphemy. The news comes amid warnings from Bibi's husband that the family's life is in danger in Pakistan.

Voters in Alabama and West Virginia have chosen to amend their state constitutions to restrict abortion. Meanwhile voters in Oregon have rejected a measure which would have prohibited publicly funded health care programmes from covering abortion.

Health authorities in Thailand are racing to contain a measles outbreak in the country's southern provinces. Officials blame the comeback of the disease on low vaccination rates in the area, caused by misconceptions among the Muslim population about the nature of the vaccine.

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